Thursday, November 17, 2005

A Bigger Bastard.....Part Two-The Yemenite Children Were Sold And Kidnapped For Profit

Were the Children Sold?by Yechiel A. MannEshhar, Israel

The shocking testimony of Rabbi Avidor Ha`Cohen may show that Children from Israel were likely "exported" to the United States for adoption and sold for about $5,000 each. Herein an outstanding excerpt from The NY Times, alleging about corruption in the Israeli National Religious party, Mafdal.

On April 25th, 1996, Rabbi Avidor Ha`Cohen, testified in front ofthe Cohen Committee that investigated the disappearance of theJewish children.

His story began with a meeting that he had in 1963 with aNew-York couple, American father and Israeli mother. They raised ayoung girl, who was about ten years old then. It did not seem toRabbi Avidor that this child was theirs. She had beautiful, large,dark eyes, also dark skin, quite unlike her "parents". This couplelater told Rabbi Ha`Cohen they had adopted her and that she waslikely Yemenite. Moreover, other families in New York had adoptedchildren from Israel.

Consequently Rabbi Ha`Cohen found out the identity of the personwho organized these adoptions. It bothered him that these childrenhad immigrated to Israel, but were later brought to the UnitedStates and likely sold for adoption.

When Rabbi Ha`Cohen reached this point in his testimony, he wasasked by Hon. Judge Yehuda Cohen about the number of childrenadopted in this manner. Ha`Cohen answered that he had not knownit back then. Merely he had been told, they were bringing children.Only when he returned to Israel, he began looking into this matter,in more detail.

Avidor further reported that he had spoken to Deborah Eliner andothers of the immigration section of the Jewish Agency. Hediscovered that the Israeli institutes that dealt with adoptiondid not know anything of this matter. This made him even morecurious as to what was being done. He was holding names of somechildren.

Avidor then sent a memo to Minister Haim Shapira, because he waspart of the "Mizrachi", a Jewish organization devoted toReligious Zionism, and Rabbi Dr. Yissachar Dov Bernard Bergman,the man behind the adoption of the children in the United States.Rabbi Bergman was one of the main people running the "Mizrachi"organization.

Avidor found it unconscionable that anorganization devoted to Religious Zionism was working to takeJewish children away from their homeland for profit.

Avidor never received an answer from Minister Shapira. He then decidedto call him on the phone. Shapira answered that there was muchgossip about Bergman, but he is, all in all, a good Jew. Avidorstill felt something was terribly wrong, since the adoptioninstitutes here in Israel didn't know a thing about Israelichildren being adopted in the United States.

He then tried getting various journalists interested in thisstory and a large amount of source material was given by him toalmost every important journalist working for every newspaper inthe Israeli mainstream press and this material was in theirpossession for many months. Avidor only got responses sayingthat there was no public interest in these cases.

He did not give up. He continued trying to get information tothe public but nothing was published until he spoke to onejournalist, Shalom Cohen, and told him of the information he heldand how important it was to bring it to the attention of thepublic. The final agreement was that the information would bepublished with the names of the families indicated by initialsonly.

Avidor testified that, at that point, he found out that thecases were not uniquely connected to the Yemenite community, thatthere were other Jewish children from many other countries beingabducted and sold for adoption in this fashion. The entirematter was then published and received almost no reaction in theIsraeli media. The treatment this issue was getting reallybothered Rabbi Avidor.

It was then that he discovered that many social circles, mainlyAshkenazi religious zionists, had a tendency to believe thatinstead of growing up in a poor family with many children, it isbetter for a child to grow up with a family that has morefinancial stability. Rabbi Avidor also says that there are stillvarious religious social groups that believe this and thusjustify the crimes that were committed against the children andtheir families. This is one of the "moral explanations" referredto in a previous article in this series. Rabbi Avidor wasshocked to see religious Jews using these explanations.

The individuals who dealt with adoption here in Israel saidthey do not know of such things happening and so had no writtenrecords of these adoptions. In such a case, Rabbi Avidor claims,there can arise a terrible problem of marriages within the familyincluding incest.

Rabbi Avidor learned then that it cost five thousand Americandollars to adopt a child from Israel at that time.

It is also crucial to mention that Rabbi Dr. Bergman died a fewyears ago while in jail for a different crime - his fraud andabuse in New York nursing homes that he ran. This was an issuecovered thoroughly in the United States and Israel. The New-YorkTimes reports:

"Bernard Bergman, the central figure in investigations intopossible fraud and abuse in New York nursing homes, has decidedto abandon his public defense of his business dealings. Inrefusing to testify at televised Senate hearings last week, heinvoked his constitutional rights under the Fifth Amendment. Hislawyer has argued that to testify would be prejudicial ifinquiries by Federal and state prosecutors result in criminalproceedings against Mr. Bergman. A Federal grand jury is known tobe looking into his affairs. And a state grand jury, assisted bySpecial State Prosecutor Charles J. Hynes, has also beenimpaneled to study alleged improprieties in the state's nursinghomes. This is not the first time Mr. Bergman has been prominentin such inquiries. At a state hearing on nursing homes last week,Civil Court Judge Louis I. Kaplan, who in 1960 issued a report oncity nursing-home abuses, testified that Mr. Bergman was then,too, the major figure in the industry under investigation. Hesaid he presented evidence of criminal fraud in the industry toformer Mayor Wagner. No prosecutions followed and Mr. Wagner sayshe doesn't recall what happened to the so-called Kaplan report.The first indictments in the investigations of the industry havebeen handed up. The owner of a Smithtown, L.I., nursing home andan accountant were accused of swindling Medicaid out of more than$500,000 by charging personal and improper business expenses tothe program. In Connecticut, which is also investigating itsnursing homes, a state official said at General Assembly hearingsthat top state officials had financial interests in nursing homesand used their influence to get favorable treatment for them".

It appears that the entire issue of Rabbi Dr. Issachar DovBernard Bergman, and the nursing homes in New-York were a big issuein the United States back then, and the New-York times spent muchwork on getting articles about it written. Bergman was a mainfigure in the Orthodox religious community in the States,as well asPresident of the United States branch of the "Mizrachi" movement.He was closely connected to the Israeli religious nationalist party(known as the "Mafdal"), which was directly linked to the"Mizrachi" movement.

In the early seventies the New-York Times began their investigationinto the issue of Bergman's nursing homes. They reported that theFederal Government would grant a specified amount of money for everyelderly person in a nursing home, that Bergman, his relatives andfriends were taking huge amounts of money from these funds while theelderly people suffered. For those of you who may remember, shortlyafterwards, many other newspapers and other media then joined theinvestigation. There were those that called it "The JewishWatergate" and others who claimed it was simply anti-semiticjournalism. It is a pity that there were those in the Israeligovernment who agreed with the latter statement. As reported byThe New-York Times:

"TEL AVIV, Dec. 29-Interior Minister Yosef Burg dismissed today as irrelevant a request by Representative Edward I. Koch, Democrat of New York, that Israel refuse citizenship to Bernard Bergman pending the outcome of a United States Senate hearing next month on nursing homes. Mr. Bergman is among 35 persons affiliated with nursing homes in New York State for whom subpoenas have been issued by Senator Frank E. Moss, Democrat of Utah and chairman of a subcommittee of the Senate Special Committee on Aging.

The Senate group, which issued the writes Dec. 20, announced at that time that it was joining the investigation of alleged large-scale fraud among New York nursing homes that is being conducted by the State Temporary Commission on Living Costs. The Israeli Minister, who represents the National Religious party in the Cabinet here, has affiliation with Mr. Bergman through the party's parent organization, the Orthodox world Mizrachi movement. Mr. Bergman is the dominant figure in the Mizrachi Religious Zionists of America. But this affiliation, Dr. Burg emphasized, is very loose, "The Israeli movement is absolutely independent," he said.

Mr. Bergman and his wife arrived in Jerusalem at the end of last month, apparently after learning that he was about to be subpoenaed to testify about fraud involving Medicaid funds. The Bergmans, who entered Israel as tourists, have no resident status here, though they own a luxury apartment in Jerusalem. They left Jerusalem in the middle of this month and are reported to be living with relatives in Vienna. A Bergman relative there has said that the couple would be back in New York, before January 7.

The press here has reported that the couple left after having been cautioned that they would not be protected from extradition, should the United States request it. Dr. Burg, reached in Jerusalem by phone, said of the request by Representative Koch that he would make a statement in Parliament in response to a similar request, submitted in the form of a parliamentary question, by Shulamit Aloni.

Mrs. Aloni is a member of the opposition Civil Rights Movement. But the question of Mr. Bergman's citizenship, Dr. Burg said, does not arise at this time. "No request whatsoever about this case has come to me," he said. Mr. Koch had cabled Dr. Burg from Washington on Friday to urge that Mr. Bergman "not be permitted to exercise the right of return" pending the outcome of the Senate committee inquiry.

Under Israel's Law of Return, a Jew can claim citizenship and a right to live here. Mr. Bergman, an ordained but non practicing rabbi, holds the prestigious title of member of the presidium of the World Mizrahi Movement. He was elected in January, 1973, together with Tibor Rosenbaum, who is involved in a multimillion- dollar banking scandal in Europe, and Rabbi Avigdor Zipperstein of Jerusalem. Rabbi Zipperstein resigned a few months ago. Mr. Bergman and Dr. Rosenbaum had been sponsored in the election by the Minister of Religious Affairs, Yitzhak Raphael, a controversial figure in Israel.

Mrs. Aloni said in an interview today that she had submitted her parliamentary question about Mr. Bergman to draw attention to her charges of corruption in the National Religious party. Support for Representative Koch's plea came today from the newspaper Ma`ariv in an editorial. 'If Rabbi Bergman is innocent, if his actions as director of a chain of old-age homes in New York were without blemish, if he can disprove the charges against him, let him do so before the competent authorities,' the paper said. 'If he wishes, he can then come to settle in Israel and will be welcomed like any Jew who decides to come to Israel.'". (End of quote from The NY Times.)

At one point, there was a public hearing in New York. In thishearing, workers from Bergman's nursing homes testified aboutelderly people dying of hunger, of ill ones dying of thirst, oftired elderly people lying in their own vomit without receivingany sort of medical care, and many others who suffered cuts andinjuries that were neglected and uncared for.

"I looked at my father, and saw he was about to die",

one witness told the committee formed to investigate the matter.She quickly took her father to the hospital, where he died ofdehydration and infection. His entire body was covered withbruises. A qualified nurse told the investigators how theauthorities twisted and changed her findings, after she reportedto the city health authorities about the horrifying conditions inthe home, as reported in Ha`aretz, on the 5th of September, 1997.

Ha`aretz also reported that the testimonies of the workers andthe relatives often sounded in the committee like "terrible scenesfrom a sadistic horror film".

It was then discovered that Bergman's nursing homes received 1.2million dollars from "Medicaid" for treatment of people who neverexisted. It was even said, back then, that elderly people with nofamily who passed away in the homes were secretly kept for longperiods of time in refrigeration, unburied, while Bergmancontinued to receive money for their care.

Some of the newspapers even alleged that Bergman's homes served as a cover for theMafia's financial activities and when they continued toinvestigate, they discovered the crimes Bergman's father committedwhen he smuggled heroin inside Jewish Holy Books.

One day, in a mail office in France, a few Talmud books were accidentallydropped from one of the mail bags, and a stream of heroin pouredout. Bergman used this incident to beg that he not be accused forhis father's crimes, cried, and made comparisons between himselfand the holy men of Judaism, but at the end was found guilty by ajury, Ha`aretz reported.

The best way to sum up most of Bergman's life is to quote partof a news article from the New York Times, titled "Many RoadsLead to Bergman", by Lee Dembart:

"...In his public posture, Mr. Bergman combined a talent for fund-raising, a friendship with politicians and a zest for self-promotion to make himself a respected leader in Orthodox Jewish circles. In his business posture, Mr. Bergman used many of those same contacts to help him turn a $25,000 inheritance into a net worth he has certified at $24-million, though he insists he owns but two nursing homes...".

To back up the claims, the article also mentions that

"In 1960, the City Investigation Commissioner, Louis I. Kaplan, linked him to a total of 18 homes, and he was estimated to be worth $10-million", and later on in the article "When Medicaid started in the mid-1960s, the bonanza began. By 1973, Mr. Bergman's accountant, Samuel Dachowitz, certified to a bank that Mr. Bergman was worth $24-million".

The irony is that Rabbi Bergman used his "friendship withpoliticians" to ensure for himself wonderful living conditionswhen he was imprisoned. The one who was not imprisoned was theperson that Rabbi Avidor Ha`Cohen met, with the adopted Yemenitechild, an ultra-Orthodox Jew, Rabbi Tuch, who was also found tobe involved in bringing Jewish children from Israel to the UnitedStates. It was a well-known fact within the Jewish community inthe United States that if a family wanted a child they could goto either Bergman or Tuch and simply pay the necessary fee.

The nursing home Mafia Consisted of The Bergman, Weiss-Spinka Rebbe, Braunstein and Teitelbaum-Kirhauser Rebbe families.

The unfortunate fact is, the current "leadership" works hard at keeping the flock away from media, etc. and controlling everything from their sink water to sex lives - all OUTSIDE the realm of authentic, original Judaism.

They figure that if the masses are living in the dark ages then they can get away with their corruption, lies and thievery. It's an old trick.

I remember Bergman sitting there with his big black yarmuka in court for all to see. He should have freaken taken it off while all the horrors were being told about the concentration camp he called a nursing home. Sitting there with his big black yarmukalooking remorsefull about the poor elderly people he defrauded. These poor elderly probably worked their whole lives saving every penny so that a fat cat like bergman and others can steal it away.I still remember him sitting there with the yarmuka, its nauseating to this day!

For years, there has been murmurrings of Yemenite children abducted by the State of Israel who told their parents they had died. IT was used by the ultra-Orhtodox has a rallying point of proof that the Medina was depraved.

Was this what happened? Or was this in addition to what happened?

How can anyone defend taking a child from their parents? How did this happen?

Everybody has a different yetser hara, some bigger, others, smaller, but lust for money unites all.

UOJ we are told came from a prominent home, which in our society means money. The people who inherit rarely have the same drive as those who created or worked for same. It's easy to sit back and judge others when you're comfortable.

What's your point?Is there a rationale for being a thief? Is your name Al Sharpton?Poor people get understanding for theft, but wealthy people just don't get it?Wow-you have a new sociologigal world order.So what about Bergman, what was his excuse?You are way off here!

Unorthodox faygaleh,Do you take your readers to be absolute idiots??Bergman had enough tzores without your new crappola.Lets start with an obvious fact:I am very well interwined with all facets of the orthodox community, chasidic,yeshiva, modern orthodox and cannot recall one(!)case of a parent walking around with a child who is clearly not biological offspring AND not clearly known as one of the few cases where orthodox jews adopted babies of a different ethnicity.I.e, there are some black children ,a famous asian girl, whose dad wrote a book about her, a very few others.Where are all the dark Yemenite kids adopted by their fair haired ahkenazi 'parents', eh,,,,,,When was the last time you saw anybody even vaguely fitting the profile of a 'stolen, dark kid' eh??By the way the 'rabbi' you quote, 'avidor hakohen' grew up as a poor lad in meah sheorim, with long peyos, at a certain time in his life he decided to cut the sidelocks off a make a break with his 'primitive' hasidic backround.His show was shown on shabbos, though it was pre taped, he obviously could have an axe to grind with orthodox rabbis

You are blind.Many are in the Tri-State area and if you should everTravel around the country you fool, you will see hundreds of dark kids in shuls, where one of their parents are dark and were adopted.How do I know?Yeah, I'm a bigshot,and am privy to this information.

David,They were taken away when they entered the country under the guise of checking their health.Then they were told that the kids died.Subsequently, they checked graves to discover that there were no bodies there......

I just want to make sure I am right about what happened, cause I'm about ready to flip, and want to make sure I am correct before I do so:

1) A small group within the Ultra-Orthodox community began to buy Jewish children without properly investigating why they were up for adoption.

2) This was without the consent or even knowledge of the State of Israel.

3) To Boot - When the facts began to surface that there were missing children, the Ultra-Orthodox world FALSELY fingered the State of Israel as the culprit, and for decades has offered this conspiracy as proof of the depravity of the Socialists, even while ignoring the disturbing evidence to the contrary that they, in fact, had been the traders of children, and the sole perpetrators of this horror story.

Do I have this right? Were the top leaders of the State of Israel innocent?

1-The "Ultra-Orthodox" led by Bastard Bergman knew exactly how the kids were being kidnapped, and in his sick F***** up head he could sell the kids because they were not going to be raised religious.2-This WAS in cahoots with cabinet officials, immigration officers...they were getting a big piece of the pie.3-When Bergman and the other Bastards got caught, they of course blamed it entirely on the Socialist Zionists.Who is the STATE OF ISRAEL?The people in the government.Remember all the early leaders of the State were Ashkenazim, the Yeminites and their kids were the Shvartzes of 100 years ago in the U.S.A.Anything went, and BIG money was the incentive.Reliable people have told me that many of these kids were sold to Gentiles for the right price.

The Torah writes "Don't steal "as "Don't kidnap," suggesting to me that this is absolutely the worst type of theft.

If, in the OFF CHANCE that the Torah in fact DOES prohibit abducting children and telling their loving parents that THEY ARE DEAD, EVEN if they have darker skin than Jewish children of Polish-Jewish ancestry, then how else should the Torah have phrased it more explicitly? Should the Torah have put it as one of the Eser D'varim to boot?

Oh wait, it is!!

What else could the Torah have said to make this clear?

UOJ, the Zionists couldn't wait to get the Yemenits into their hands. They were desperate for Jews, even though they looked down on them.

I don't think this went all the way to the top, and I am no fan of Ben Gurion. But there is no way he would have wanted kids leaving Israel for a few dollars. He was after much, much, larger amounts of money,and whatever he was, it wasn't about personal profit. A cut of $5 thousand wasn't going to cut it.

David:Take Unorthodoxs's rantings with a large dollop of salt.There are very few orthodox jews with kids that are clearly not biological.In fact I cannot recall a single such case. I have lived in Brooklyn for a large segment of my life and have travelled to almoSt all the significant orthodox communities in North America